Bikochu's Bond
by High Inquisitor Silk
Summary: UPDATE: Chapter 2 is out. - - Out of his cocoon, the secluded Scolopendra will soon bloom into a marvelous Mariposa. All secrets will be revealed. Please review, and detail your criticism. Going for 10 chapters only, if this project is successful.
1. Chapter 1

The idea of schedule, and planning proper 'scheduling' is something that has eluded many people since the beginning of time. Working one's self into a shape-able, new and orderly sequence of steps would surely send people into a state of frustration, and ultimately give up on the idea. Going with the flow, while it's openness for leisure and free movement is a given, it could also lead to lazy and slothish tendencies. So in any case, would Shino Aburame call his fellow team mates 'lazy sloths?' Not in the slightest, no. Would Shino Aburame consider himself to be drastically different from his fellow classmates in terms of planning? Well at the very least you could call Shino's thought process a 'hive mind'. This definition works both literally and figuratively. Proper, calculated, strict are all the qualities an Aburame youth should possess. Don't talk out of line, speak when spoken to, keep your thoughts open, but your "thoughts" to yourself, and above all-respect and love your comrades and country. Did Shino respect his comrades? Of course. Love? Sure, why not. Let's say he does. Would he kill for them to get their act together? ...

Well.

**6:00 AM**

Shino sat on his bed and wiped the sleep out of his face and eyes. Five minutes exactly before his alarm clock on his watch went off. He took a look around in his room-a plan bedroom, decorated with the everyday pieces of furniture you'd expect out of a seventeen year old male. A few risque pictures here and there, a large shelf of books regarding his studies, clothes scattered about, etc. It's a shame that he was so busy everyday; he'd consider this place his own personal hobble for him to think and reflect on life. Regardless, there was no time for thinking or reflecting. Work had to be done. Shino took the first two minutes of his routine to straighten up his room to prevent his mother from saying anything regarding the matter. Fixed up, and with clothes in his arm to wear for the day, Shino walked out of his room (closing it quietly to prevent waking his annoying mess of a father), and headed to the bathhouse that his clan had for personal use. He preferred cleaning himself early to prevent any unnecessary passerbys (the bath was co-ed and Shino was no stranger to bathing with the opposite sex.). Along his way with walking to the bathhouse, the sounds of nature and his 'companions' were wide awake and lively. He'd have to make sure to greet his team of workers after he got him self settled.

**7:15 AM.**

In his personal restroom, Shino groomed himself s he usually did. Ever the efficient multitask master, Shino focused on brushing his teeth with his own body power, while his 'companions' began work on unknotting and straightening his hair. One of the benefits of being an Aburame clan member is the near-perfect symbiosis a member would have with the insect population. Never an operation of one against the other, but rather a joint cooperation of man and bug. With this Shino learned to respect his environment and ecosystem, mostly thinking of the greater good that benefits both himself and his companions. After finishing his teeth, and hair, Shino slipped on his high-collared sleeveless vest, letting his mouth be cut off by the collars, leaving the peering [REDACTED] color of his eyes and his hair stick out prominently. Slapping on his forehead protector, and afterwards his black sunglasses, Shino left his spotless room-shinobi bag to his side-and headed to his kitchen the area of the clan's housing that his family owns. His parents were long gone by now, so as expected, a small black box was left on the counter, with the usual "have a pleasant day" note left by his mother. A grumble escaped his voice after grabbing the box and slipping it back into his bag next to his box of cigarettes and other medical equipment for him and his team.

Now that the easy part of his day was over, Shino left the area of the Aburame Clan stronghold, and began walking into town. His usual blank expression leading alongside of him.

**8:27 AM**

It was the usual meeting spot-utop of the Ninja Academy. He was always first. He was always the first one to sit, and wait patiently for his teammates and master. So there, he sat. Waiting.

**8:45 AM.**

He waited.

**9: 12 AM**

He waited.

**9: 36 AM.**

The shuffling of two feet and four (LARGE) paws came after an estimated one hour and 10 minutes of waiting. Shino's expression remained blank as the first two of his team of five began showing up. The black leather-clad, brown haired boy and his trusty ninja mut-err, dog, arrived on the scene in a much more exasperated look than Shino's clean and presentable atmosphere. They clearly just got out of the bed without any regard of their appearance...or...hygiene. Though this was expected from the duo of Inuzuka Kiba and his pet, Akamaru. Kiba's lazy, exhausted face greeted the Aburame with a pleasant grin.

"Mornin, Shino." Kiba said enthusiastically, followed by a yawn. Shino remained quiet. This was the usual pact of communication they had. Soon after, Akamaru came in front of Shino, giving him a bark of greetings. Shino obliged to the dog's greeting, and scratched behind Akamaru's ears. Shino remained quiet.

And so, the two waited.

**10:00 AM**

They waited. Kiba played fetch with his dog, while Shino kept to his silent, frozen position.

**10:22 AM.**

They waited. Akamaru took a nap.

**10:57 AM**

"S-Sorry...!" The quick shuffling of audible, confused feet came flooding up the stairs to the roof of the Ninja Academy, and soon enough came Hinata Hyuuga, panting heavily due to her running, looking in a much more presentable state than Kiba was. "O-Ohayou..." She muttered in between her breaths. Akamaru jolted up, and ran over to Hinata for her to lean against. She smiled at the helpful dog, patting his back. A bright grin appeared on Kiba's face as he walked over to greet his other team-mate.

"Mornin', sleepyhead!" Kiba began. "You're late again. What happened this time; your cousin kept you occupied?" Hinata, now finally catching her breath and drinking the water bottle holstered to the side of her leg, replied to the beast-loving boy.

"N-No...I have news! R-Regarding sensei!" Hinata said with a bit of eagerness. Kiba raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant. He walked over to Akamaru's back and sat utop of him, looking down at Hinata.

"What about? She's okay, right?" He asked. Hinata nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out what appeared to be a note from their sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai.

Shino had immense respect and appreciation for his sensei. Kurenai was smart, calm, caring, attractive-she had all of these interesting perks that made her stand out more as a human being than a shinobi, and she wasn't afraid to show her humanity around her team. Wether it be gossiping about her late lover to her team when they were younger, building Hinata's courage throughout the years, or her (futile) attempts of opening Shino up to her team, she remained an important part about her life. Throughout her pregnancy, Shino was one the one (along with her own friends and Hokage alike) who stuck to her shoulder like glue, serving and aiding through her insane mood swings (she punched his face, thus leading to Kurenai knowing what exactly is beneath those glasses of his.) and cravings. He would honestly admit that, along with a few others, Kurenai is one of Shino's closest friends. At least; that's what he likes to believe.

So when he heard there was something wrong with her not being here anytime sooner, and along with Hinata's absence. So Shino-for the first time in a couple of hours, got up from his seat, and walked over to the two without their knowledge.

"W-Well..." Hinata began, a tad nervous. "H-Her baby caught an illness, s-so she's going to be home for a week to tend to the baby's sickness. S-So...we have a replacement instructor for the time being...!"

Kiba scratched his head. "Replacement? W-Well, we're all Chunin-do we really need a replacement teacher? We can take care of ourselves! Hell, even Shino could lead u-"

Kiba stopped. Looking back, he noticed the spot that Shino was missing from. "Where'd he go?"

Shino remained silent, standing directly behind Kiba. Hinata was quick to notice he was behind the boy, and couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Ehh?! What's so funny, Hinata-chan? I'm just wond-" He paused. Then, he got the picture. "He's right behind me, isn't he." Hinata nodded, her face turning pink as she laughed just a bit harder. Shino remained silent as Kiba turned around.

"Jeez! Can't you tell us when you're on the move?!" Kiba sighed, scratching his head. Akamaru leaned up to bark at Shino (most likely laughing at Kiba.). A smirk appeared on Shino's face (though not visible.).

_"Shino-kun..." _Hinata thought to herself as she laughed. _"What does go on in that head of yours? I bet it's on a whole different level...! I guess...that's why you're the strongest out of all of us...and yet, you choose Kiba-kun to be our leader." _She regained her composure, a sigh of admiration for her team's silent member. Shino took a quick glance at Hinata, and his smirk stayed. He was glad that she was expressing herself a bit better. Still, that didn't change the burning question left in Shino's head.

Shino unzipped his collar a bit, revealing his mouth, he looked over to the two, and for the first time in the day, he spoke openly to the team. "So, who's our replacement? Is it the woman who's been standing on the tree about a kilometer east of us, observing us with a telescope."

The two others' faces changed from their natural expressions to that of shock for a brief moment. Their guards were left down, so they obviously didn't expect to detect anyone because they weren't really trying at that point in time. Even Shino's chakra-whose was extremely challenging to detect for years-was at a low level. So how did he spot her?

"How do I know this?" Shino continued, moving a cigarette to his mouth. "Because I saw under her skirt briefly."

Silence.

...

_**"YOU DID WHAT YOU LITTLE SHITSTAIN?!"**_

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**That's about it for this one. I'd really appreciate the feedback for the story. Actual criticism is really preferred. **


	2. Chapter 2

Unbeknownst to others, Aburame Shino had an immense hatred for 'freeloaders' or 'easy walkers.' Shino tended to classify these 'easy walkers', as 'shinobi who got a position where they are out of fear, pity, or appraisal.' In short, the Uchiha Sasukes of the world deserved nothing from him other than his infinite reserve of apathy and disgust. As a child, he often mused with his childhood friend Torune that if he were Hokage, he'd strip the Uchiha Sasukes out of this village, and only leave a village of the hard working ones. No one deserved a free lunch. If you had arms, and legs? Use them.

So there he sat in the same area he was before Team Kurenai's new temporary instructor, Mitarashi Anko, arrived; the area surrounding his glassed eyes colored in a heavy shade of purple do an 'instructor's' excuse of a personal space. He didn't care. He said what was on his mind, at the cost of his team's fate. Now, what exactly was on the boy's mind?

Well...

**11:20 AM: One Hour Ago... (Current time is 12:20 PM)**

_"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU LITTLE PERVERTED SHIT?!" The purple haired and questionably dressed woman yelled at the spectacle speculator, her face burning with a shade of red along with the girl, Hyuuga Hinata, sitting alongside Shino's shoulder. Shino kept his composure, and simply responded to her; seeing no need to sugarcoat anything regarding his general opinion._

_"I said what I said. I looked up. I saw your under your skirt. I saw your underwear. It's a provocative thong encased underneath your sport leggings." Cue an elongated drag from his cigarette. Hinata immediately covered both hers and his mouth after he spoke. Muffled, she apologized for Shino. "G-Gomen..! S-Shino-kun doesn't...h-he doesn't um...like to...paraphrase, y-you see...!"_

_"Oh, I see." Anko retorted as she began to calm herself down a peg. "Your little 'friend' is obviously a fucking shut-in, isn't he? Think he can be blunt with any woman he sees, eh?! Don't think I don't know about you Aburames, scolopendra. I know all about the seedy shit y-" As Anko went off into a tangent that Shino didn't particularly seem to be interested in,__ his thoughts stopped on the phrase Anko used to belittle him._

_Scolopendra. Caterpillar. A lowly slug with no redeemable qualities or noteworthy features, and are about as common as a house ant. This, scolopendra, would soon leech and feed off of the success of nature's bloom to eventually mold itself into a much more prominent member of the insect hierarchy-the Mariposa. Butterfly. Was this Shino's current situation? A calm scolopendra, being yelled and talked down by the large, bombastic cobra?_

_Scolopendra..._

_Granted, these are all just trivial things that are usually noteworthy for an Aburame to have stored in their brain in case they have to choose a specific Bikochu for a mission, so he didn't muse on it THAT mu-_

_"HEY! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME, ABURAME?!" Anko yelled directly into Shino's ear. The smell of dango and fresh alcohol was along with the annoying package, but Shino-patient as ever, of course-paid it no mind, and kept to his silence. He saw no need to repeat to her comment. He was much more interested on the state of his embarrassed friend, and the condition of his slowly burning away cigarette than whatever the hell she was chirping about. He turned his head to Hinata, an eyebrow furrowed slightly._

_"Introduce yourself and the team to Anko-sama. I'm going to dispose of this cigarette butt." _

_Shino left._

**11:38 AM**

_Shino had already disposed of his cigarette butt, sure. He left his team for a bit of time to get away from the insufferable yelling. Insufferable yelling fueled by insufferable people. A neverending funnel of insufferable moments. Today was definitely the start of an annoying week, so he needed something to ddirect his focus to instead of losing his temper. (The equivalent of losing his temper would be him emitting a loud sigh. Aggressive actions are alien to Shino.)_

_Out of all of this, he couldn't help but think of Kurenai. He missed his sensei already. He missed her smile, her knowledge, her ability to hold a conversation with her. Traits like these are things that let Shino appreciate a person. You could best believe that Kurenai deserved all of his appreciation. Was it a crush? No, not anymore at least. Maybe when he was twelve, sure. Now? No. At least that what he believes._

_Shino stopped in front of a familiar eatery stand, leaning against the side of the building to keep out of sight from any familiar individuals. Knowing where he was, he definitely didn't want the company of a familiar blonde running into him. Shino reached inside of his jacket, grabbing a small bottle carrying an unknown liquid. Taking a long swig from the bottle and capping it back quickly, afterwards slipping it into his sleeve, hidden. _

_'Great.' Shino thought. 'On this month, I will be a year older. It's only a matter of time...only a ma-'_

_"GOTCHA!" A familiar voice from earlier screamed from above. Shino sighed, keeping to his glued focus to the opposite wall. He knew Anko was trailing him after he left; her blood left a scent so sloppy that it could be tracked kilometers away. But he didn't mind; if she was so 'interested' in him, she could have tried a different approach instead of following him around like some depraved stalker. _

_"You thought you could get away that easy, eh?" Anko gloated, a bright grin on her face. "Kuro did tell me that you were the silent type. What gives?! Can't live with your 'mommy' being gone away from you for one week?"_

_He raised a brow at her previous comment. Kuro? Was she referring to sensei? He knew that the two were close friends. Did sensei go on her way, telling meaningless stories about her and her team to everyone? More importantly, did she-the only person who knew about Shino's clan more than the others in his team-talk about /him/ to a great detai-_

_Wait. He was panicking. He shouldn't panic. _

_"It's not that sensei's occupied..." Shino commented. "It's that your voice annoys me. I wanted to get away from your voice. I don't mind your existence, but if you figured out a way to talk without getting in my way...perhaps I could tolerate you more."_

_Anko was pissed. The next thing that Shino remembered, was the descending combat boot slamming itself into his face. _

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**Will be entering the plot of this in the next chapter. A lot of this chapter is buildup.**

**That's about it for this one. I'd really appreciate the feedback for the story. Actual criticism is really preferred. **


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